The horizontal line represents the person’s life.1704 - born1715 - died

Boyd, William

, a descendant of the preceding, and
fourth and last earl of Kilmarnock, was born in 1704, and
was but thirteen years old when his father died: he discovered early a genius not unequal to his birth, but found
the family estate pretty much encumbered, and great part
of the patrimony alienated, which was by no means answerable to his lordship’s generous and noble disposition.
It was also his misfortune to be too soon let loose among
the gaieties and pleasures of life. As he grew up, instead
of applying himself to study, he launched out into the
world in pursuit of pleasures which were more expensive
than his fortune could support, and by this means considerably reduced his estate, which, from the most probable
conjecture, was the true reason of his taking up arms against
the king. Indeed, his lordship himself owns in his confession to Mr. Foster (while under sentence), that his rebellion
was a kind of desperate scheme, proceeding originally from
his vices, to extricate himself from the distress of his circumstances; for he says, “the true root of all was his careJess and dissolute life, by which he had reduced himself to
great and perplexing difficulties; that the exigency of his
affairs was in particular very pressing at the time of the
rebellion; and that, besides the general hope he had of
mending his fortune by the success of it, he was also
tempted by another prospect of retrieving his circumstances, by following the Pretender’s standard.” It does
not appear that his lordship was in the original design of
the rebellion: on the contrary, he declared both in his
speech at the bar of the house of lords, and in his petition
to the king after his sentence, that it was not tilt after the
battle of Preston Pans that he became a party in it, having,
till then, neither influenced his tenants or followers to
assist or abet the rebellion; but, on the contrary, influenced the inhabitants of the town of Kilmarnock,
and the neighbouring boroughs, to rise in arms for his
majesty’s service, which had so good an effect, that two
hundred men from Kilmarnock very soon appeared in
arms, and remained so all the winter at Glasgow and other
places. It is said, that when the earl joined the
|
Pretender’s standard, he was received by him with great marks
of esteem and distinction; was declared of his privy-council, made colonel of the guards, and promoted to the degree of a general (though his lordship himself says, he was far from being a person of any consequence among them).
How he behaved in these stations (quite new to him, and foreign from his former manner of life), we cannot determine; but common fame says, he displayed considerable
courage till the fatal battle of Culloden, when he was
taken, or rather surrendered himself, prisoner, to the king’s
troops, though involuntarily, and with a design to have
facilitated his escape: for he acknowledged to Mr. Foster,
whilst under sentence, that when he saw the king’s dragoons, and made towards them, he thought they had been
Fitz-James’s horse; and that if he could have reached
them by mounting behind one of the dragoons, his escape
would have been more certain, than when he was on foot.
Yet, in his speech to the house of lords, he made a merit
of having surrendered himself, at a time when he said he
could easily have made his escape, and in this he owned,
when in a state of repentance, that he had not spoken
truth. His lordship was brought to the Tower, and on
Monday the 28th of July, 174-6, was, together with the
earl of Cromartie, and lord Balmerino, conducted to Westminster-hall, and at the bar of the lord high-steward’s
court, arraigned, and pleaded guilty to his indictment,
submitting himself to his majesty’s mercy and clemency.
On the Wednesday following, the three lords were again
brought from the Tower to receive sentence, when the
lord Kilmarnock being asked by the lord high-steward, if
he had any thing to offer why sentence of death should not
be passed upon him, his lordship, addressing himself to
his grace and the whole august assembly, then consisting
of an hundred and thirty-six peers, delivered an eloquent
speech, after which, sentence of death was pronounced
upon him, and he returned to the Tower. After this, he
presented petitions to the king, the prince of Wales, and
duke of Cumberland, wherein he set forth his family’s
constant attachment to the revolution interest, and that of
the illustrious house of Hanover; his father’s zeal and
activity in support of both in the rebellion in 1715, and
his own appearing in arms (though then but young) under
his father, and the whole tenour of his conduct ever since
that time. But the services of his forefathers could not
| satisfy the public demand for justice, nor avail him so far
as to procure him pardon. He was beheaded on Towerhill, August 18, 1746, and was interred in the Tower
church, with this inscription upon his coffin, viz. “Gulielmus Comes de Kilmarnock, decollat. 18 Augusti, 1746,
aetat. suae 42.” His lordship’s whole deportment, from the
time he was condemned till his execution, was suitable to
one in his unhappy circumstances. He gave the most
lively marks of a sincere humiliation and repentance for
all his miscarriages, and his behaviour in the hour of death
was resigned, but strictly decent and awful. He had himself observed, with great truth, that for a man who had led
a dissolute life, and yet believed the consequences of
death, to put on an air of daringness and absolute intrepidity, must argue him either to be very stupid or very
impious. He was a nobleman of fine address and polite
behaviour; his person was tall and graceful; his countenance mild, but his complexion pale; and he had abilities, which, if they had been properly applied, might
have rendered him capable of bringing an increase of honour to his family, instead of ruin and disgrace. His
lordship lived and died in the public profession of the
church of Scotland, and left behind him a widow (who was the lady Anne Livingston, daughter of James earl of Linlithgow and Callander (attainted in 1715), with whom
he had a considerable fortune), and three sons, the eldest
of whom his lordship had educated in the principles of
duty and loyalty to his majesty, and in whose service he
fought against the rebels. He succeeded, upon the death
of Mary, countess of Errol, in 1758, to her estate and
honours, his mother having been undoubted heir of line of
that noble family, and he was the sixteenth earl of Errol.
He died June 3, 1778, leaving issue. 1

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